What The Nefarious Carnival Does To You
by Radiate-the-Darkness
Summary: Welcome to a place for fun and freaks. The Harbinger of Doom. The Siren. The Man From Hell. And so much more. Nico di Angelo lives his life playing with the minds of mortals in a place his friend Jason Grace built called The Nefarious Carnival where he gathers special people. Nico feels something for The Siren. He just has a disturbing way of showing it. DarkCarnival!AU. Percico.
1. Chapter 1: The Shadows Say Hello

**Author's Notes: This has been in my mind for the last two months and I just had to write it down before I lose interest in doing so. This fic is a sort of Dark Carnival AU. I know I haven't finished Psychokinetic Disaster but I'm already writing the next chapter for that. Forgive me for not updating in a long time. We had Saturday classes and our school schedule's packed with activities. Then there's the exams after this week. I might be able to update in three weeks? I'm not making promises. This chapter is short and I'll to out-wordcount the next one. Yes, out-wordcount is now a word.**

**Boyxboy content on later chapters**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. They belong to Rick Riordan.**

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**What The Nefarious Carnival Does To You**

**Chapter One**

**The Shadows Say Hello**

"See The Siren today! The siren will have you beck his call. A hypnotist who hears the voices of the deep dark depths of the sea; he who calls forth never-before seen sea creature. Last day today!" a man announced.

Visitors chatter to themselves as they enter a large room with turquoise orange peel walls. At the far corner, they see a water-filled glass casing—more like a fish tank but larger that it takes up the whole wall from bottom to top. Spectators walk forward, enthralled by the dark green scenery. A boy who looked seventeen years of age sat on a huge rock waiting for his audience to fill up the room. People of different ages look on mesmerized by the endless dark scenery behind the boy with dark hair and vibrant green eyes as if there was the whole sea right behind him.

Others waited and gaped as they watch curiously as to how the boy can stay underwater for a couple of minutes since they got here. Looking closer, their surprise grew when they actually see him _breathing_ in the water as if it was air of his own. As the door to the room closed, the light dimmed and the floor below the boy who they assumed as The Siren began to light up in bright colors, casting different shapes and figures on the wall and ceiling.

The Siren smirked as he stood up and approached the glass separating him from the audience. His eyes glowing a supernatural green shade as he passed them all looks.

"Welcome to The Siren's Abode," he began,

"As my guests, I shall endow you the mysteries beneath the sea." He said.

His audience sat gaping at him in anticipation, some in awe and some in disbelief. His voice did sound unnaturally clear under the water. Normally he shouldn't be able to talk at all due to the water enclosing him. But then again, he wasn't all that normal. Not one in the Nefarious Carnival is.

He took a step back and closed his eyes. He strained his ears as he sends a signal not humans can hear. The dark green scenery behind him is not at all a wall but, in fact, the illusion of the sea's depths. Little does the audience know that the tank built in the area stretched out far and wide, for the sea creatures don't favor the shallow area. He has Jason Grace, the one who gathered them and built the carnival in the first place, to thank for that. The Siren's lips tilted up as he hears them responding to his call; the rush of energy his fish friends made as they swim towards him and onto the spotlight.

"Lo and behold, the man who bears iron hands; he who came from the pits of hell itself. See him grip onto the hottest materials and set them on fire! The sword of his choice engulfed in flames as he wields it." Another man announced from somewhere away The Siren's Abode.

Visitors gather as they watch the man on stage polishing knives, swords, and tools of different kinds. As they compiled, the boy who looked sixteen years of age with dark and curly hair grabbed three weapons from the desk in front of him and walked towards the end of the stage. He bent down to the nearest person and said, "Pick my poison." He grinned, holding out a knife, a dagger, and a long sword. The volunteer must've been pretty daring for choosing the sword. The boy puts the other weapons away and holds it out for the growing crowd to see.

With his other hand, he dips it on the pail filled with flammable substance sitting on his desk and began spreading it all around the sword. The audience watched patiently as the boy finished. Wiping the oil from his hands to his pants, he held out the free hand and clenched it, the eyes of the audience following the action. Grinning, the boy immediately opened the enclosed fist and there, encircling his hands, is a fiery flame. He hears the audience gasp and clap.

The boy brings his hands together where the sword lights up on fire. Both his hands are now holding the flaming object. Although it was made of steel, the boy somehow caused the metal to be liable in holding the flame, therefore engulfing it in it. He might have a scrawny body —words of wisdom from Jason Grace— but looks were always deceiving, as his friend always says. He raises the sword and he opens his mouth to slowly bring the sword and fire down his throat. The crowd claps and shouts in shock.

_Another day, another show_. He thought to himself, grinning around the blade inching down his esophagus.

"Step right up! Step right up everyone and see the Harbinger of Doom on stage! Last day today! See him reanimate the undead, cast dark illusions before your very eyes, and listen to him call upon the spirits of the dead." An announcer who was dressed in a black robe gestured for the people to enter the looming dark cave located not too far from the others.

Girls and boys of all ages walk briskly as they enter the cave and into darkness. The light at the end lures them in as they trudge forward. The stage held nothing but a coffin, a table with a black candle stacked on an ominous-looking skull, and a black blanket lay sprawled on the floor. There were no signs of human activity with the exception of the spectators coming in for the show. At least, not _human_ enough.

The candle held the one brightness that compelled the people into surrounding near it. Unlike ordinary candles, this had the brightest flare and stood tall and unwavering. Once the cave was filled, unfocused eyes looked around for their entertainer. A sudden movement on stage caught them staring at the dark material laying there. Slowly, the dark blanket forms a bulge. The bulge grows bigger until the ends of the blanket was lifted off the ground and a pair of dark shoes stood. The figure stayed still for a moment, letting the crowd whisper among themselves in curiosity and wonder.

Arm-like figures spread outwards and rip the blanket away from his form. _His_ because the thing —or rather, the person— who appeared below it was a boy no older than thirteen. He had black unruly hair and dark brown eyes that resembles a pit of darkness.

"Good evening, ladies and gents." The one known as the Harbinger of Doom announced to his audience. The boy dropped the blanket and stepped forward with his arms still outstretched, a small grin stretched on his lips. He could clearly see the surprise in their eyes to see this necromancer look of no appropriate age to be hosting such a dark show. Especially one involved with the dead.

"I am the one known as the Harbinger of Doom, for I shall come collect you in your death." He said, his smile growing slightly. It wasn't true but it wasn't a complete lie as well. The boy could see part of the audience who were young teenage girls melt in their place and some who shivered at the thought. He rolled his eyes mentally and continued on.

"Anyone afraid of the dark is welcomed to leave this instant." He stopped, pausing dramatically as he turned his head to the side where they came in through the entrance earlier. "Oh, but that's not possible now, I'm afraid. Who knows what could be lurking in the dark, ready to drag you ten feet under." He snickered evilly when he saw the audience shift nervously in their places; some going as far as to look around them. _Got them where I want them_, he thought to himself. "Which reminds me: has anyone seen the endless pit a few feet from here? Be careful. If you fall, you'll never see the daylight of tomorrow." He added.

The crowd only herded themselves closer to the candle and started backing away from the deeper parts of the cave. "Why do you have an endless pit here?!" one woman shouted. The Harbinger of Doom turned towards the source of the voice and stared emotionlessly.

"It is where the spirits pass through when I summon them either to talk to them, to let them possess someone, or just plainly drag someone into the depths of the earth." As if on cue, the ground below them shook slightly. The spectators gasped in fear.

"But that's nothing compared to the place you're in now— the darkness. The fear of the dark is something irrational, so to speak. You may never know what's watching you or what's hiding in it. You just assume things that are... _not_ real." The boy said as he stepped away from the candle. One hand outstretched as if he was caressing the shadows that the coffin was making, the people watching him cautiously.

"But don't worry. There is nothing to fear of—" he was cut off when the only light source in the room blew out, "the dark." He drawled. The audience screamed in terror as they looked around blindly, effectively hitting once or twice the person beside them.

"See? Nothing to be scared of. Just a few..." They heard the boy trail off. Girls were whimpering and clutching onto their friends. A sudden rush of cold wind had the audience gasping and yelping in fright. "Escaped souls." A voice whispered loudly, jolting the audience when a light source came on. In the center of the cave where they shied away from stood the boy holding a skull that sported a red candle. This one different from the one sitting on the table. The Harbinger of Doom grinned creepily, the effect of the shadows casting onto his face effectively making him look eerie.

"Let the night be filled with fears."


	2. Chapter 2: Meet The Carnies

**Author's Notes: Just a short update on this chapter. Short because I don't usually write 2K chapters. Somewhere around 3 to 4, maybe. I don't have the energy to lengthen it and I'm sorry. To be honest, I haven't planned the whole thing yet but I already have an ending. Stupid, I know, but I'm trying to put up some kind of plot for a while before I head to the end. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. Just, y'know, the plot of this fic. It's called _fan_fiction for a reason.**

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**What The Nefarious Carnival Does To You  
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**Chapter Two**

**Meet The Carnies**

"My throat feels like it just swallowed a gallon of acid. Which is pretty cool, if I may add." Nico looked up from where he lay at the couch to see Leo, the boy deemed as the "Man from Hell" as he entered the main house for the carnies.

The main house is where they all gather after a night's show. It serves as a home for the carnies as they have their own rooms. They usually perform a straight three nights. Sometimes traveling elsewhere when they get a call to perform, then heading off as a group back to the Nefarious Carnival until they get their next call. Jason, their "big guy" as Leo would put it, lounges around the main house when there's work to be done. They're a small community after all. He's trying his best to move around and find others like the current carnies.

When he's not looming over his desk and checking papers, the blonde boy makes it a habit of performing his own show or disrupting one of the other carnies' shows. Usually Leo's or Percy's but the two boys don't mind. In fact, they'd welcome him even. He awes the audience by controlling electricity with his fingers, sometimes creating a light show at night.

"If you would stop pushing things down your throat, you'll get the benefit of not choking." Jason mumbled after putting away a small stack of folders into the drawers of his desk. He stood and made his way to the group, sitting down on the single leather sofa beside Nico.

"You just wish he had something else to push down his throat other than his sword." Nico whispered lowly after shifting in his place so that the other boy couldn't hear him. He received a non-too-friendly glance from the blonde boy. Ascribe to his current position, he reached out a hand and patted lightly on the back of Jason's palm. "Don't get your panties in a twist. You know it is true." He said. He retracted his hand when Jason made a face at his statement, the lights momentarily blinking.

"Man, I don't get it with both of you. You have this whole sub rosa going on even when we're in the room and even then, we don't get it." Leo huffed as he took a seat in front of Jason.

"Sub rosa. Big word." A girl's voice interrupted them as the door swung open to reveal a girl with short uneven warm mocha brown hair. She smirked and took a seat on the spread out couch beside the Latino. Her skin held a healthy light tan color to it and her eyes ranged from brown to a mixture of green. She was beautiful and, like The Siren, she had the power to hypnotize her audience may it be from her appearance or the soothing sound of her voice.

"How was the show, Piper?" Jason asked, leaning on the elbows he placed on his knees. "Same like yesterday. Different varieties of flowers were thrown my way. I swear if I see another flower again, I'll rip it to shreds." She sighed and leaned back on her seat. "Calm down, beauty queen." Leo chuckled, discretely pulling out several cogs to fumble with.

"How would you feel if you tried minding your own business one day then all of a sudden you get attacked by a horde of chrysanthemums, pink dahlias, tulips, and roses?" Piper scoffed, crossing her legs in a boyish manner.

"I would ask how you know what types of flowers you get horded with and at the same time, actually _hate_ it but I value my time too much to hear the end of it." Nico said. He watched as Piper was ready to remark at that but was held back by Jason. The raven-haired boy fingered the silver skull ring on his finger as he watch her shrug and close her eyes. "I don't hate it per se, but I don't get why guys think they could easily make a girl fall in-love with them by throwing flowers at their faces. Or giving them flowers in general." Piper muttered.

"This is why we have guys like Nico di— Ow!" Jason yelped after getting hit in the head with a skull. He takes one look at Nico and flings the skull the boy magically summoned straight aiming for his head. To Jason's chagrin, Nico caught the skull with one hand where it slowly turns to ashes, dissipates and goes back to where it belongs in the underworld.

"Have guys like what?" Two other figures opened the door and entered the room; one girl who looks sixteen and one boy older than the girl by one year.

They were their newest addition when they were traveling the road after performing. They found them in the middle of a crop field one day when Leo came to inspect the green smoke billowing from the area. The green smoke had surrounded the girl who was spilling nonsense and the boy, who unnervingly carried dismantled teddy bears with him, was staring doe-eyed at the moving supposedly-inanimate toys before him. It was a confusing night for the carnies and them but once they were settled in the trailer, they found out the girl had an ability to foretell the future. The boy, well, he can turn any stuffed material alive.

Today, the girl with red frizzy hair and a pale and freckled face owns a tent in the Nefarious Carnival where she works as an Oracle. Her clients had to have a limit on what they want to know and how far off they'll go in life. She sometimes gives them these good luck pendants to carry home for, you know, "good luck" but clearly brings nothing more than misfortune. The thin boy with light ash blonde hair is in charge of a baseball throwing game where the player must hit a stack of three bottles with one ball. You could only guess what the prize is. Contrary to belief, more customers than expected are determined to win the eerie-looking bears.

The blonde had a strange habit of telling the players they will lose before they start throwing. Coincidentally, they do. But on rare occasions, the thin boy grumbles and says nothing at all, watching the player hit and wins the game with their prize. The boy wore a tattoo of a lyre on his wrist but when they ask him about it, he says he forgets ever having one.

Octavian follows Rachel as she plopped down on the couch beside Piper. The boy was always in a grumpy mood and no one knew why. Not even Nico who seemed almost as grumpy as the blonde.

"Like grumpy teenagers who drown in all their angst in their emo corner." Leo nudged Nico and eyed both him and Octavian. "This is why you don't have girlfriends." Leo whispered non-too-quietly to the two boys. "And he's not planning to have one anytime soon." Rachel said, crossing her arms. Nico glances at her and looks at her. _Really_ looks at her if there's anything that indicates she knew what only he and Jason knew. He's had a feeling she's not talking about _both_ him and Octavian anymore, just him.

For a second, Nico thought he saw a small smile appear on the red head's lips before vanishing. "I don't like girls. They're too loud and girly." Octavian, who sat beside Rachel, mumbled half-heartedly. Leo grinned and leaned far back in his seat with his head towards the thin blonde boy. "Tav, was that you coming out of the closet?" he teased.

"Who? Octavian? Boys? He's far too shy to even kiss a girl. Let alone a boy." Rachel intervened, placing her hands on her lap. Octavian grumbles beneath his breath and narrows his eyes at the strands of red hair. "I'm not the one who turns herself asexual in fear of getting fat and pregnant." He jeers. Rachel turns around and glares at him. "I never said I didn't want to get fat! Jeez, you're making me sound like a total girl!" she complains.

Unknown to them, the carnies sigh and rub their foreheads with their fingers. The fight between the redhead and the blonde weren't uncommon since the day they arrived. Several had tried to pry them off of each other but it never worked. They knew better than to get in the way of their fighting. Once when Leo tried calming Rachel down and accidentally said how she was wrong, he was cursed with sore throat for a month and therefore had to postpone his acts.

It wasn't a good experience for the Latino. Because seriously, who'd want to say the girl isn't right when she's in a fight? It's like suicide, from Leo's words.

Nico watches them go at it and blinks at their fight. He shifts in the couch he occupied for himself and sighs. "Want me to go get Frank? Maybe his appearance could distract Rachel. You know, since she's taken a liking to see him change forms so much." Jason leaned over to talk, seeing that the fight isn't going to end soon. Nico shrugged and absentmindedly started to caress the silver skull.

As if on cue, the door opened and a large guy walks in. There's no mistaking them it's the shapeshifter, Frank. He walks toward the circle of carnies and sits on the hand rest of the couch where Jason's sitting. "You called?" He raises an eyebrow. The guy had supernatural hearing since he can take the form of different animals; animals that can hear and see from afar. Nico nods his head towards the bickering teens and Frank sighs.

They found out Rachel's favorite animal was a hamster after she told them her story when she was younger. She had to go to a therapist when her pet hamster died. Though Frank can't turn into a hamster he can turn into a beagle, the second closest to Rachel's favorite animal. The seventeen year old boy does so a little reluctantly and makes his way towards the girl. Rachel had taken to using her hands in expressing her words.

"But that's not why my hair is red! It naturally is!" she yelled. "It's you in general that makes me puke, not your hair!" Octavian counters. How they got to that topic, Nico will never know. Frank paws at them and it's enough to make Rachel stop and carry him. Nico felt sympathy towards the guy.

"Hey Frank!" Rachel smiles wide at the dog. He could see Piper and Leo chuckle behind their hands when they see Frank involuntarily wince at having to be so near the girl. It wasn't that they hated her they found it funny to see their tough and muscular friend turn into a beagle to prevent Rachel from arguing with Octavian. It works both ways too.

"If looks could kill, you'd be charged for animal abuse the moment you look at dogs." Octavian mumbled, staring at Frank. Rachel ignored him and petted Frank's head.

The boy huffed and rolled his eyes. "I sort of agree with scarecrow over there." Leo whispered. Piper cracked a smile and stopped herself from laughing boisterously. The door opened and in came a blonde girl. She had grey eyes and a Yankee's cap over her head. Nico knew who she was. Annabeth Chase. She got the name "Wise Girl" for a reason. She's one of the insanely smart people across the globe. Though she wasn't a big attraction, she hangs out with Piper most of the time.

She glances at Rachel and the others before sitting on the hand rest on the couch Leo sat on. She was one of the old ones who knew Jason for a long time. There were only six of them before they started the carnival. There's Jason, Leo, Piper, Nico, Annabeth, and Percy. _Speak of the devil_, Nico thought just as another boy entered the room.

"You guys started the party without me?" the boy with windswept dark hair announced after entering and closing the door with a thud. "By party, you mean Rachel and Octavian's bickering? Sure." Jason said. Nico looks away at that point before the others catch him looking at the seventeen-year-old-boy longer than normal. He hears the boy sigh, "What's new?" Percy asked.

"Oh, you know. Nothing." Octavian rolled his eyes. Percy ignores him and walks to where Nico lay sprawled. He makes a wave motion with his hands to indicate Nico to move but the thirteen-year-old doesn't. Instead he moves to occupy more of the space and glare at the boy's shirt. He couldn't bring himself to look at his sea green eyes because like the customers they have Nico can fall into a trance as he drowns himself in the green pools known as Percy's eyes.

"Neeks." He calls him in that deep voice of his.

"What?" Nico muttered, half-tempted to look up to him but restrains himself from doing so.

"Move, please?" Percy pleads.

The boy is positive he's giving him the puppy eyes. Nico pretends he doesn't hear him and turn to Jason. "Did you get the fries I ordered this afternoon? I couldn't find them." He says. He's _this_ close to slapping the amused smirk Jason's openly showing right now. "Yeah. I brought them to your room since you were busy. Hope you don't mind a bite in your burger." The blonde grins. Something tells him there's something to the way he was smirking at Nico.

The boy yelps when a sudden heaviness settles on his legs. He retracts them immediately and glares at Percy who looks pretty smug about getting his seat. "What bite?" Nico turns back to Jason and momentarily ignores the way Percy stared at him for a second.

"Yeah, about that. I sort of took one bite when I saw Jason bringing in food and he didn't tell me it was yours before it was too late. I was hungry." Percy frowns sheepishly. The raven-haired boy sighed and waved a hand in dismissal. "Whatever." He still glares at Jason. Even if it was an indirect kiss when he eats his burger later, it was nothing to make a big deal about. But seeing that this was Percy he was talking about, he's suspicious Jason didn't plan on telling Percy sooner before he took the bite.

"Well then, no shows to perform tomorrow and no planned events. I say we have a week to rest." Annabeth who was now walking towards the couch Nico sat on made Percy move and sat beside him. The brunette hooks his arm around the girl and smiles. The other carnies cheer and whoop. Leo was already heading off to his room in the main house.

Nico had to look away when Annabeth came over but seeing her close to Percy while he was in their reach made it awkward. Jason gave him a sad smile because not only did Nico know about Jason's small interest in the Latino, he blonde knew about his interest in Percy as well.


	3. Chapter 3: Mirror Mirror On The Wall

**Author's Notes: Sorry I haven't been updating especially Psychokinetic Disaster. I was sick last week and at the same time, we had our Intramurals. Anyways, my birthday's coming up at the 21st and I might not update the week before or the following since my mom will be arriving from abroad. I would like to warn you readers that things might start to turn up somewhere around the next or so chapters. And I'm changing the rating to M. **

**Have you ever wondered what would happen if I haven't finished the fics I'm currently writing then all of a sudden, an accident occurs and I may never be able to write again? Some thought I had for a while when we were discussing news on murder in class a few days ago. Without further ado, here's chapter three!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. They're all from Rick Riordan. Even if he likes to kill most of our beloved baes. **

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**What The Nefarious Carnival Does To You**

**Chapter Three**

**Mirror Mirror On The Wall**

The next morning, Nico woke up late as usual. Seeing that he had no audience to entertain and people to talk to, he laid there in bed, relishing in the soft goodness known as his pillows. Just as he was about to fall back into Elysium and sleep, a loud knock interrupted him. "Di Angelo, get up! It's 11 AM and I need you to run errands for me." Jason's muffled voice on the other side sounded. The boy in bed groaned and buried his head further in the pillows.

"Get your fireman to do it. He seems active this time of the day." Nico tilted his head to respond.

"He's already up and about. Can't seem to find him though. Last I saw him he was hanging out with Frank." Jason murmured. Nico knew Leo and Frank had an indescribable friendship that Jason was jealous of. The raven-haired magician unwillingly sat up and headed for the door. He was greeted with Jason's grinning face after opening said door. Nico sighs and runs a hand through his messy dark locks. "What do you want me to do?" Nico asked. He has a feeling he already knew the answer.

"Oh, you know how Leo leaves his swords and tools lying around and the last time that happened, Rachel beat him up when she sat down on one of his wrenches on the couch. I was wondering if..." The blonde trailed off, trying to find a way to say it without raising suspicion. To his chagrin, Nico knows very well what he's pertaining to.

"You want me to go get Leo for you so you could spend the day with him as he cleans the room up." Nico deadpanned. Jason shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans and sighed almost heavily. "Am I that obvious?" He mumbled. Nico stares before putting a hand on his shoulder. "If it would help, I'm pretty obvious myself when I'm around... _him_. Don't worry, I'll go find him." Nico reassures him. Jason smiles and says nothing more as Nico gathers the shadows around him to transport himself out.

He sets foot outside the main house where he sees Rachel and Octavian cleaning up the mess from yesterday's performances. The streets were littered with candy wrappers, were those confetti (?), and the remnants of the flowers that were ignored by Piper.

"If you're going to be an ass about it, why tell you in the first place?" Rachel sneered, picking up numerous amount of trash and disposing it at the nearest garbage can she could find.

"Who knows? If what you say sounds cogent for me, it would appeal to others as well." Octavian huffed. Rachel grumbled and turned her back on him. _Nothing ever changes._ Nico thought and approached the two teens. Octavian saw him first then looked over at the red-head. "Have any of you seen Leo around?" the young boy asked. Rachel turned around and frowned. If she caught the look Octavian sent her, she paid no mind to it.

"Over Aphrodite's Island, Piper's station. She said she was busy so she asked Frank to send the new set of mirrors to her station. Leo tagged along when he saw him pass." The oracle explained. Nico nodded and headed to the direction where the missing carnies were when Rachel coughed. "Wait, Nico—" she straightened her posture and opened her mouth to speak. The boy glanced over his shoulder where Rachel stood.

"Yes?"

Octavian nudged her but she said nothing more. Impatiently, Nico sighed and went to look for Leo. The distance he walked was far enough from them but nonetheless, he heard the soft reply before Rachel and Octavian's voices faded.

"They need to know." It was Rachel.

Nico furrowed his eyebrows but thought nothing of it. He saw Aphrodite's Island not too far off. He quickened his pace so he could go back to the solitary he calls his room. A few steps ahead and he could already hear the unintelligible voices inside the tent. He pulls the two red fabric apart acting as doors and enters. He could hear laughter now. If it weren't daytime, Nico just might be a bit unnerved by it. Just a _bit_. He passes the hallway where tall disoriented mirrors stood on both his sides. On the far end was a cream white door with Piper's name written above. The mirrors showcase his reflection in different views and stretches; somehow making his body looks small to enlarging the size of his head.

"This one seems pretty interesting."

He heard Leo's voice inside the room and twisted the doorknob. Nico was just about ready to grab the boy and shadow travel back to the main house so he could get his rest but upon entering the room, he's got the attention of three boys. Leo was, as expected, holding one of the new distorted mirrors Frank brought into the tent. His reflection was one that didn't stretch or compress though. What Nico saw didn't make sense.

"Hey Nico," Percy with his bright green eyes shining smiled at him. The boy looked past him and at Frank. "You brought Piper's mirrors here. Now that that's done, what else reason are you here for?" Nico knew Frank was nervous around him so he used that to his advantage. He stared right through him. The tall boy looked mentally about to stutter but Leo intervened. "I asked him to stay with me while I check out Piper's mirrors." He defended.

Nico and Frank had a stare down. Nico looked away and back at the mirror Leo was holding. It had a bronze frame encircling the mirror in curves. It did show an image, although not Leo's. "Is that a girl?" Nico asked, inspecting the person closer. Leo shrugged and adjusted the mirror in his grip. "This one seemed pretty different. Percy and Frank tried standing in front of the mirror too but their faces didn't show; just the girl's." Leo said. The girl showed no emotion and only blinked often. She had a dark skin tone and her hair came in curly waves of chocolate brown. What was intriguing about her was the color of her eyes; a glinting gold.

"Do you know her?" Percy asked, looking back at the girl then at Nico. The necromancer shook his head slowly. "Does she ever move?" He asked. Leo considered it for a while but shook his head. "She only blinks from what I can tell." Frank added. Nico hummed and looked directly at Leo. "Jason's looking for you." He said.

The Latino blinked and in a second, he was up and grinning. The mirror was set aside on Piper's small dresser together with the other mirrors. Unlike the mirror with the bronze frame, the others showed Frank's reflection as he carefully fixed them on the dresser. The girl stayed emotionless and blinking. "Let's go." The boy turned and grabbed Leo's arm. "Nico." Someone called him. Before he could shadow travel them back to the main house, Nico glanced at Percy to see him hooking an arm around his neck. Nico flinched slightly unnoticeable.

"Do you have plans this afternoon?" The brunette asked. Nico couldn't stop the shiver that went down his spine. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Percy.

"Sleeping." Nico deadpanned.

Beside him, Leo snorted. Percy rolled his eyes. Maybe he was imagining it but the taller boy seemed to lean towards him a centimeter. Not that Nico calculated. "C'mon, we clearly haven't been hanging out much. What'dya say?" Percy insisted that he spend his afternoon with him. Dear god, if Jason were here, he would no doubt be grinning at Nico. That's what you get when your friend knows about your crush then they suddenly turn into your number one fangirl; fanboy, in Nico's case.

Nico opened his mouth to decline the offer and stared straight into Percy's green eyes. Once he did, he knew he was lost. All words left him but the longer Nico looked, the more he doubted his decision. "Fine." He breathed. Percy was grinning ear-to-ear and from the background, he could hear Leo laughing. Nico blinked and transported Leo and Percy to the main house.

"You did not just." Nico was ready to snap at the look Percy gave him. _I'd punch him to wipe that shit-eating grin off his face_, he scowled mentally.

Their arrival startled the blonde sitting on the couch and checking papers. "Leo! Nico! Percy?" Jason raised an eyebrow at where Percy's arm was still hanging around Nico's shoulder. "I heard you needed me." Leo shrugged and sat down beside Jason. Nico could practically feel the heat radiate from Jason as he internally blushed. He was probably blushing himself but he kept it down by glaring at the blue eyes that held mirth to them. "Yeah. But before that, Nico, don't you have spells to practice" Jason questioned.

Nico scowled. "They're not called _spells_, Grace."

"Call them whatever you like. " The blonde waved a hand dismissively. Nico rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "Seeing that there's nothing for Jackson to do at the moment, would you accompany Nico at his practice? Don't want him killing himself." Jason said, turning to Percy. For a second neither Percy nor Leo paid attention to, Jason winked at Nico. Oh, was Nico going to get the boy later. "Sure. Sounds fun." Percy finally removed his arm to clasp his hands together.

"I made plans to go on a date with my bed this afternoon. Don't want to keep it waiting. I'll go practice _when_ I wake up." Nico protested. Jason clicked his tongue and shook his head. "You wouldn't even be awake if it weren't for me." Jason said. The necromancer was turning around to head to his room. "Exactly. If it weren't for you." He sneered half-heartedly. He heard Percy chuckle behind him. "Let him get his sleep, Grace. I'll accompany him later." Was he serious? Nico glanced at him from over his shoulder.

"Fine. Fine." Jason sighed. He then engaged a conversation with the boy beside him. Percy caught Nico's gaze and smiled. It was light and sweet. Nico bit his lip and headed for his room. Truthfully, he wasn't tired at all. He had enough sleep from last night. The raven-haired boy only wanted to collect his thoughts peacefully before he spends his day with the Siren. Although before the boy could twist the knob to his room, the door to the main house created a loud bang as the door opened. Rachel was accompanied by Octavian who was trailing behind her.

"Guys, I have news you might want to hear." Her voice sounded urgent.

"What's the problem, Rachel?" Jason inquired. The oracle took a deep breath and eyed the thin blonde boy beside her. Octavian made a waving motion with his hand to indicate her commencement. Her eyes flutters close as her shoulders slump. Her mouth hangs down and green misty smoke emerges from her throat. Nico backs away from his room to see what her prediction will be about next. He stands beside Percy, who was looking warily at the amount of green smoke encircling the red-haired girl.

_"There, beyond a sacred dark land,_

_A place of corpses and poisonous sand;_

_She who carries all treasure in the world_

_Seek help, stuck, in the Underworld._

_Her eyes that twinkle of golden shade,_

_Her memories hazy momentarily fade._

_The reflection mistaken, a mirror's glimpse could see,_

_Part of the carnival, she must be."_

She recited before the smoke vanishes into thin air. Jason was there pulling her down to sit on the couch with him when she immediately regained her consciousness back. It took a while to let it sink in what Rachel said. Everyone in the room was quiet until someone spoke up. "We think it's another one of us. Whoever this girl is probably out there and lost." It was Octavian.

"Hold on. Gold eyes, mirror and a mistaken reflection?" Leo piped up. The carnies turned their attention to him this time. "I think we just found her." He said, realization dawning on his features. Octavian looked confused as well as Jason but Percy and Nico knew what the Latino was hinting at. "Are you saying the girl in Rachel's prediction is the girl in the mirror Frank brought in today?" Percy asked the question Nico's been thinking. "Probably. I mean you saw she had golden eyes and the mirror only showed her reflection. Right, Nico?" Leo turned to the younger boy. The necromancer shrugged. "Best if we take a look at her again. And what's that bit about the Underworld?" He asked, the part in Rachel's prediction intriguing him.

Rachel sat up from her seat and groaned. She rubbed her face with her hands and stared at her lap. "Underworld. I've been getting dreams lately. Or visions, if that's the right word for it. The place definitely seemed dark. It was a vast mass of land and there was nothing but darkness. At least, that's what I was able to see. I heard wails and pleading but I couldn't find the source. Sounded like a girl, too," She hummed. She tapped a finger on her chin and recalled what she has seen.

"I couldn't pinpoint where the location is exactly but it's definitely dark. If my guess is correct, there's an underground lair buried somewhere around the area. I have a feeling it mustn't be too far."

"So did this girl stay in this underground hideout for the rest of her life? Is she even able to consume food while she's down there, wherever she is?" Jason asked. The girl raised her shoulders. "The mirror you described, where is it?" Rachel asked Leo. "Frank took care of it. Still probably in Piper's room in her station." Leo jumped up. The boy opened the door and ran outside. He yelled back a reply when Jason shouted where he was going. "Getting the mirror to see if it can be of any help!"

"Nico, Percy, you've seen the girl in the mirror. How did she look like?" Rachel questioned.

"You'll see. Except she doesn't move; she just blinks." Nico mumbled, putting his hands in his pockets.

"You said something about the Underworld. Wherever she's hiding must be an underground hideout." Jason looked over at Nico. "If it is dark like Rachel said it is do you think you could track down the girl?" The blonde directed the question at Nico. The raven-haired boy pursed his lips. "I'll see if I can. Being a carnie like us, she must emit some kind of signal like us. It's how we found Frank." Nico said. Finally he accepted the request.

"Give me a few days." He reassured. Jason nodded gratefully at him. The next minute, Frank came lugging in the mirror and Leo at his side. He set the bronze-framed mirror down meticulously to refrain from shattering it. The girl in the mirror stayed the same; blinking gold eyes that looked like no life was behind it.

"She looks sad." Rachel observed, craning her neck at the image. Octavian huffed, "She doesn't look like anything at all. The girl's lifeless." He said. Frank narrowed his eyes at the blonde boy and his grip tightened on the frame. Nico thought it strange Frank was angered by this. "He's right. How do we know she's breathing and alive? It only portrays her looks but not her personally." Nico participated. Percy seemed to agree with him. Jason frowned and caressed a side of the mirror. "We still have to take chances though. If the girl is alive, we could save her from whatever hell she's going through." The blonde rubbed his fingers together to elicit a spark of electricity.

Just then, the door opened and in came Piper and Annabeth. "Why's everyone here?" Piper looked at the carnies. "And is that one of my mirror?" She pointed at the mirror Frank was holding. Rachel nodded and crossed her arms. "Your mirror is a looking glass. It shows an image of the girl we need to save. Somehow." Rachel explained. Annabeth came around and looked at the mirror herself. "Strange." She muttered.

"What if the mirror wasn't a mirror at all?" She mumbled.

Nico raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?" He looked at the girl in disbelief. Jason looked curious and didn't stop the unintentional friction his fingers caused. "What if this was some kind of communication device?" The blonde surmised. Experimentally, she grabbed Jason's wrist which were electricity-free and made the tip of his fingers touch the surface of the mirror. A loud crack was heard. The top right corner displayed the newly-placed crack but besides that, nothing else happened.

"So, it isn't a communication device." Percy drawled. Jason pulled his hand free from Annabeth's grip and stared at the mirror. "For the meanwhile, Nico should be able to track down where she's currently hiding." Jason glanced at the young boy.

Said boy groaned and nodded. "Alright, alright. I'm on it." Nico trudged outside of the main house where he inhaled the air around him. He placed his hands behind his back and tilted his head towards the sky. He hasn't completely succeeded in tracking people with the use of shadows but he's getting there. Currently, he was mastering reverse necromancy; the process of bringing people into a death-like trance but not completely killing them. It was a long way to go but he had to postpone it for the sake of the unknown girl who needed to be tracked down.

"Doing yoga exercises now?" A deep voice interrupted him. He blinked his eyes open to see the taller boy standing in front of him. A little too close for comfort, if he might say. "What do you want, Percy?" Nico blankly stared at him. Percy circled him as if he was the prey. "Nothing. Wondering what you were up to so I followed you." He smiled. Nico moved his attention away from his bright smile. If the green-eyed carnie wanted something, a simple eye contact and a charming smile would do the trick. Nico knew he was up to something.

"You're ridiculous, Jackson." He shook his head as he sat down on dirt ground. He heard the other chuckle and took a seat beside him. "Biggest flaw, really." The doofus had the audacity to grin.

Nico grimaced and slowly closed his eyes. He tried tracking down inconspicuous movement in the dark forest near the carnival. That was one advantage in building a dark carnival; having a dark forest of some kind nearby to enhance the eerie atmosphere. Nico twitched his head slightly to the side as he detected the movement of what seemed to be a bird in the trees shades. It consumed most of his energy so after sitting quietly and desperately hearing for any signs of movement, he was tiresome the moment he opened his eyes.

What surprised him though were the eyes that were watching him from three feet away. Percy had a dreamy smile on his lips and his eyes didn't stray from Nico's face. The boy could feel the heat rise from his cheeks. "What?!" He exclaimed. The taller boy grinned and shook his head. "Nothing." He said.


	4. Chapter 4: All Green And No Blue

**Author's Notes: WARNING. Just a sign to put there. 'Cause, y'know, things are about to go down. A little rushed? Maybe. Sorry for any mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. All rights go to their rightful owners.**

* * *

**What The Nefarious Carnival Does To You**

**Chapter Four**

**All Green And No Blue**

An afternoon of helplessly trying to track down the gold-eyed girl was not in Nico's agenda. He eventually gave up and decided to take a shot at it next time, say a few days later. To his chagrin, Percy still hung around. He did agree to hang out with the Siren.

"Doesn't it tire you out? It looked like it did to me." Percy mumbled from behind him. Nico rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He was heading to his cave to see if he left anything there.

"Takes practice. Although for now, I'd say it is tiring." Nico replied. "So if you wouldn't mind, I would like to refrain from talking right now." Nico huffed as he quickened his pace. Percy hurried to catch up and walk beside him.

"If you didn't want me hanging around, you could've just said so," Percy feigned wincing in hurt. Nico couldn't stop his eye from twitching. "You forced yourself on me, Siren." He blurted, using Percy's pseudonym. "You didn't seem to argue though," he could hear the smirk in Percy's remark. He opened his mouth to reply but stopped when he felt a hand latch onto his wrist. Nico tamed his self-control when he felt the tickle of warm breath on his ear. "Don't deny liking it."

Nico wrenched his hand free from his grasp and strode forward without looking back, afraid of the visible blush on his cheeks to be seen. "I liked it when you weren't being a manipulative bastard." Nico scoffed weakly. He heard the older boy chuckle warm-heartedly before following him. "All is fair in love and war." His voice pitched in a singsong way. Nico ignored what he said when he saw his cave not afar. He entered and in an instant, Nico felt the darkness give him a warm welcome. Yeah, that wasn't creepy at all.

"How do you see in the dark, anyways? Doesn't it hurt your eyes?" Percy's question echoed off the rocky walls. Nico shook his head but realized the boy couldn't see him. Sighing, he reluctantly grabbed his arm and led him. Normally, the torches set on the walls would set ablaze if it weren't for a blank audience. Besides, Nico wanted to keep his cave dark to scare away whoever had an idea of entering it.

"I could ask you the same thing underwater." Nico turned to look at Percy, then back forward. The teen shrugged and let himself be dragged by the younger boy.

"Instincts, I guess. It comes naturally." Percy replied after a few seconds. "Likewise." Nico mumbled softly. _I guess I forgot to blow it out_, Nico thought as he saw the lit candle from a distance. He was pretty sure he did the last time he exited his cave.

He approached said candle and examined it. The wax hasn't melted much, to his surprise. He carefully caressed the skull as he stared at the flame. "I know I asked this once before but I'm asking it again. Why do you keep a coffin in here?" Percy asked as he eyed the wooden coffin from a few feet. Nico retracted his hand from the skull and saw that at least a light delicate layer of dust has settled on his fingertips. That was odd. Was his cave _that_ untouched? "Because reasons." Nico didn't feel like answering anymore.

"And since when did you take an interest at interrogating me anyway?" Nico spun around to look at Percy. All the questions just tossed Nico off balance. The teen wasn't this curious about him before. What changed? He noticed the boy avoid eye contact as his eyes focused on the darker part of his cave.

"I'm just curious about you, Necromancer." Percy smiled, looking at his direction but not exactly meeting his eyes. Nico would have to take that answer for now. He didn't bother replying as he rummaged through his stuff. His curiosity increased when his other stuff wasn't as dusty. Unknown to him, Percy had blindly roamed without knowledge of his area. So when Nico looked up, he nearly panicked at the absence of Percy from beside him.

"Percy?!" He nearly yelled. He mentally sighed in relief when he heard the other boy reply. "Just here," He announced. Nico gathered the shadows around him as it transported him beside Percy at an instant. A faint trace of a smile stretched on his lips when he saw the other carnie jump. "Geez, do you make it a habit of scaring people like that?" Percy chuckled nervously. "So you admit I scared you?" Nico raised an eyebrow. Just a few feet away, he could see the dark and gaping crater taking up a quarter of his cave.

No longer paying attention to the Siren, he ignored the reply of "No, you definitely did not," and stalked closer to the black mass.

"Nico?"

"Yeah?"

"What's that?"

Nico motioned for Percy to follow him a few steps. Once Percy was beside him, he pointed at the ominous-looking pit. "See that?" Nico asked quietly in the darkness. The green-eyed carnie had to take time adjusting to the black emptiness but as his eyes contrasted, he could see a darker piece in his vision. "Yeah. What about it?" Percy asked all the while leaning closer.

"It's a deep dark hole that leads to god-knows-what. It's where I summon spirits and all that." Nico shrugged. "Not much to see." He added. Percy stared at the pit confusingly. At hearing Nico, he nodded. "But has anyone fallen in?" he asked.

Nico shook his head. "No." He answered.

"If you're quiet, you could even hear the short wailing of tortured spirits down there." Nico cupped a hand around his ear and grinned wide.

"Oh, joy." Percy hit him on the arm and laughed.

"Come on, ghost boy, I want to show you my place." He winked. Nico was thankful for the darkness surrounding them at the moment, hiding the way his cheeks betrayed the half-hearted glare he threw at Percy.

This time, he refrained from traveling through the shadows since it took up his energy. Instead, he settled for grabbing Percy's hand and leading him the way out. He didn't think about the way their hands grabbed at each other in the dark as if they were never meant to be separated. He's probably not used to being in the dark, Nico reasoned. As they exited and made their way to Percy's station in the carnival, their hands never left each other.

"Hey Nico," Percy turned to look at him.

"Hmm?" Nico hummed, following Percy into a large room that displayed what looked like a fish tank but larger—like the ones you see at SeaWorld. An oceanarium, as they call it. They sat with their backs against the thick glass encasing the water and looked at one another. "What do you think about that line in Rachel's prophecy about the Underworld?" He asked. Nico shrugged, letting his head fall back as he stared into the cream color of the ceiling. The walls were a light turquoise shade and it complemented Percy very well.

"Do you think she's really dead? Rachel did say something about her being stuck there." Nico wondered out loud. "Wasn't there a saying where if they died in an unpleasant way, the spirit remains in the area of their death to haunt it? What if that was what happened to her." Percy concluded. Nico glanced at him to make sure he heard him correct.

"Percy?"

"What?"

"That's stupid. She's trapped in a mirror." He said.

"It's just a visual image of her! She isn't really stuck there." Percy grimaced. "It would be great if we got some kind of help to locate her." He said. Percy always had this hero complex inside him. It would often come out but it was there. Nico found it endearing Percy sought to help others. "Don't worry. I'm trying my best. If she's in a dark place like Rachel says she is, it'll be possible to find her." Nico said. The brunette locked eyes with him and smiled. "Just don't tire yourself out."

Nico blinked when Percy raised a hand to ruffle his hair. He coughed and looked away once he knew green eyes were studying him carefully. "Yeah, I won't." Nico sighed. Since when did Percy care so much for him? Percy bit his lip and smiled at Nico. The raven-haired boy pretended to ignore him but the longer the teen beside him stared, the more he got self-conscious. He risked a glance at him and glared.

"What?" Nico huffed. The green-eyed carnie chuckled and reached a hand out. Before Nico had a chance to figure out what he was doing, he was startled at the fingers that smoothened the middle of his eyebrows where they had once knitted into a glare.

"No need to be so grumpy, you old man." He teased. Nico gaped at him for a second before looking away. "Unbelievable. I wouldn't be the me you'd come to know if it weren't for my attitude so be glad I'm not acting out of myself. Also, you're older than me!" His eye twitched at hearing Percy laugh. His eyes darkened and he whipped around to glare at the teen but once facing the Siren, he had already taken hold of him with his green eyes.

"You're right. But also, I've never seen you smile before," His voice hinted mischief and Nico knew that. Damn those eyes! The boy wanted to knock the shit-eating grin off Percy's face as Nico's own brain lost control of his face and began to smile. "Cute, but you could practice on that." The brunette winked. Nico blinked and felt his face burn red from embarrassment. He hated those hypnotic eyes that sometimes took control of him.

Wait a minute.

Did he hear what he thought he heard? Nico choked slightly and stared at Percy in disbelief. "What? Okay fine. I guess I'll give that smile a seven out of ten. Was I the only one to ever see you do it?" Percy asked in all his obliviousness. Nico sighed and turned away to let the burning sensation in his cheeks fade away. "You're ridiculous, you know that, Jackson?" he steered him away from the topic.

"Yeah, I know. Could be the death of me even," Nico didn't notice the move before the felt the slight contact of skin. Percy had scooted closer and the blush that had previously been wiped was rushing back full blast. "I'll make sure to record it." Nico replied in sarcasm. "Would be the greatest death of all time." He added.

"As long as you're there to talk to me, I'm more than fine to stay in your pit of darkness." Nico knew he was joking around but he couldn't help but take it to heart. His own pulsed rapidly and he felt the butterflies in his stomach that prevented him from moving further away from the green-eyed carnie.

"If it means dragging your body there to dump, I'd gladly do so too." Nico internally hissed when Percy chuckled darkly at his sarcastic remarks.

_It's like orgasm from hearing his laugh. Am I that perverted? Oh crap, I'm so done with the world._ Nico wanted to get rid of the dirty thoughts that sprawled in his mind after hearing the boy inches closer to him laugh _right_ beside his ear. "As you say," he said. Oh, was Nico going to have nightmares involving a chuckle and a pit of darkness. He swore he saw the older boy leer at him, even for a second before Nico turned to face him. He smiled sweetly at seeing Nico's raised eyebrow.

After talking about the new prophecy Rachel spilled and their abilities in their realms, both carnies stood at hearing hurried footsteps.

"There you guys are!" Piper sighed as she entered the room. "We've been looking for you guys. I guess it didn't occur to us that you might as well have been staying here the whole afternoon." She said, wiping an imaginary sweat off her forehead. "What's up, Pipes?" Percy asked. "Dinner. Dinner's up and Leo has something to talk about." She said.

"Talk about what?" Nico questioned. But the brunette just shrugged and left the room, after a few seconds, with Percy and Nico in tow.

Once they got inside the Main House, almost everyone was there with their plates full of food. Nico grabbed his own bunch and sat on an empty seat that was close to a certain someone he didn't bother mentioning. "Where's Rachel and Frank?" Annabeth asked.

"Who knows? They could have been eaten by a wild bear for all we know what with the forest nearly surrounding us," Octavian shrugged. The blonde looked at him dully unimpressed. "The bear being Frank." Octavian added. "Thank you for your optimism but we have something else to discuss." Nico could see Jason purposely looking at Leo. Said man was munching on his food with his eyes locked onto his plate.

_What's gotten into him?_ He thought.

"Leo? If you'd ever so kindly explain," Jason offered him the spotlight. The boy looked up and nodded. He glanced around the room and his eyes lingered on Nico for a bit too long to be suspicious. "Remember the line in Rachel's prophecy talking about the Underworld?" Leo took a deep breath.

"What if Nico has some kind of access to this place and therefore, find her through his senses?"

"If you haven't noticed, I've been doing that since of late," Nico deadpanned. "Witness." Percy commented softly for only Nico to hear, earning an eye roll from said boy. He didn't even notice Percy sit down in between him and the other carnie he internally dreaded. Not so much as dreaded but something akin to it was enough. Jealous, maybe. But no way in his whole life would he admit it out loud.

Nico had to bite his tongue when the blonde girl leaned into Percy's side. The teen didn't mind and instead, leaned back into his seat. "No—well, good but—what I mean is.. Didn't you ever think of using th—"

"Guys!"

Leo could've exploded into flames for being interrupted, seeing as he was red in the face when Frank and the Oracle finally arrived. Wrong timing, really. Nico could practically hear Leo rambling in his mind. Not that he did. He wasn't a mind reader.

Rachel was accompanied by Frank who was heaving the same mirror from this morning inside the Main House. She still hopelessly stared out blankly through the mirror. Nico doubted she can see anything outside of the mirror's realm. "Any news on the girl in the mirror?" Jason asked, worriedly glancing at Leo for being interrupted immediately. The Latino gave a wave of his hand and sat down on his seat, whatever he was about to say gone from mind.

Rachel gestured towards Frank as the carnie meticulously set the mirror down. "I know she has done nothing but stare out the mirror but hear me out," Frank raised both his hands. The carnies in the Main House leaned in in interest. Frank turned to the girl in the mirror, looking at her straight in the eye. "Are you in there?" He asked.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Nico thought he was wasting his time trying to talk to a hologram but then something happened.

"Hello?" a small voice spoke up. A different voice not one of the carnies owned.

"Hellooo?" the voice rose. The carnies watched as the girl looked around frantically. But that was all she did, unfortunately, as if she couldn't see them from where she stood. "Hello?" She asked again. Her voice was mixed with a certain loneliness Nico once experienced. Momentarily, he felt pity for the girl.

Frank inhaled and tried communicating with her. But her answer or her words in general didn't change. The boy would ask what happened, where she is, or why she couldn't see them but he got the same reply like a broken record. "Hello?" She said.

"Great. You broke her. She was at least better at keeping quiet," Octavian grumbled, earning a glare from the shapeshifter. "Like you could've done any better! For all I know, you don't even care about the poor girl." Frank rose his voice. Jason was alert for the incoming fight that was bound to happen between the two.

"What business do I have with a girl stuck in a mirror? She can't even see, for Christ's sake!" Octavian rolled his eyes. He got up from his seat, purposely ignoring the sharp looks given his way, and went to his room. Frank heaved a sigh in frustration and sat on the seat Octavian previously occupied. The Latino moved over and comforted the man. "He's Octavian. What do you expect? He's just going through his daily round of period. Forget him," Leo smiled when Frank chuckled.

Nico crossed his arms and watched as the girl in the mirror hasn't quieted down. "Frank," he started, "can you make her stop talking?" Nico realized it sounded rude. "We'll be sleeping in a few and I doubt no one's getting nightmares with her echoing her voice throughout the halls." Frank gave him a pointed look but the boy only shrugged. Forget sugarcoating it.

"I need my sleep, Zhang."

"It's not like she'll be loud enough for you to hear. 'Sides, she'll stay in Piper's station for the meanwhile." Rachel spoke up, looking at Piper for permission. The brunette shrugged and made a waving motion. "Go ahead," Rachel was already heaving the mirror out of the Main House.

After dinner, the carnies left to go to their own rooms. Only five were left and that included Nico di Angelo. Leo stood, catching Jason, Annabeth, Percy, and Nico off guard. "I need to check something in my station." Leo excused himself. Jason raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

When the boy left, Jason was already standing. Not one to be left alone with Percy and especially Annabeth, Nico stood up. Before he could turn to go to his room, a hand latched itself onto Nico's wrist. The Necromancer could see the blonde turn his head and smirk indiscreetly for Nico to see.

"Hey," said the all too familiar voice, "I wanted to talk to you about something." Nico heard shifting movement as the teen stood up. From his angle, he could see Annabeth eye the two curiously. _Let go of me, Percy_, he thought harshly but couldn't bring himself to say it.

The raven-haired boy intentionally glowered at the hand clasping his own. If Percy saw it, he didn't acknowledge it.

"What about?" Nico asked. What could Percy possibly want to talk about at this time of the day?

"Uhmmm..." The mumble from the older teen wasn't unnoticed by Nico.

Said boy waited impatiently when he heard the older teen click his tongue. "Would you mind if we..." Nico saw the nervous look in Percy's face and raised an eyebrow. He knew the Siren was always confident in what he was saying and never shy. That was one thing Nico liked about the older teen. So what's the sudden change?

"Go to my room to talk about it? I don't know if you're fine with it—"

"Yeah, sure." Nico replied. It was a bit immediate so he worried he sounded a tad bit suspicious but he waved it off when Percy grinned wide. "Great," The older boy led Nico to his room without releasing his hold on the boy. Nico only entered other rooms seldom in his life since he had no business there. So entering Percy's room for what might be the second time in his life still got him awestruck at the oceanic display of it.

Percy motioned towards his bed. Nico was embarrassed, to say the least. He sat on the blue bed like he was sitting on glass. Percy sat beside him and for a second, something came over his face. Nico couldn't tell what. The teen smiled and that gave Nico shivers down his spine. "So," he clicked his tongue, "What did you want to talk ab—"

Nico could have stopped breathing. His eyes were wide as saucers as Percy threw caution to the wind and kissed him. He was pushed back against the soft covers of the bed with Percy climbing on top of him. Everything was a rush and Nico couldn't—can't—stop his heart from beating fast. _What? How? Did Percy_... His thoughts went astray when warm lips left his and repeatedly kissed the side of his neck.

"P-Percy"? He whimpered. The brunette didn't reply and continuously ran his hands down his sides. Nico was in a state of shock. He lay unmoving as the older teen pushed his shirt up. At making contact with his sensitive pink nub, Nico gasped.

"Percy! W-what do you think—why are you... —stop it!" His voice wavered. The Siren looked up into brown orbs questioningly. His hand had hooked his shirt up and with his thumb he rubbed small circles against his skin. "Please, Nico." He whispered, blowing gently on the sensitive nub. The younger boy squirmed beneath him and all words were lost. Percy had him under his spell now. Nico gripped the sheets as the older teen crawled down to where his pants hugged the sides of his hips.

"P-Percy..." He bit his lip at seeing the brunette unzip his pants. He tortuously pulled his pants down slowly as well as his underwear. Nico's face was flushed at the sight of his own erection pointing directly at Percy's face. His eyes widened as Percy's warm hand enveloped the phallic organ. He stroked up and down carefully, to Nico's dismay. He knew Percy sensed this and the bastard had an evil smirk on his face.

"You get off on this, d-don't you," Nico jeered. He suppose he could get under Percy's skin but when the older boy shrugged and increased his pace, Nico gaped. He was leaking with pre cum. Percy used his other hand to gather the substance and rubbed his fingers in it. Soon, Nico felt a slippery finger encircle his crevice. He couldn't help but wantonly moan. The other carnies be damned. He was having the time of his life with the boy he dreamed about.

But Annabeth.

Nico's open mouth morphed into a frown. The Siren saw this and increased his stroking, going down the base then up to the tip. The finger that caressed Nico's hole slipped in only to have it removed a second later. This whisked Nico's thought of the blonde away and groaned desperately. His grip on the bed sheets was enough to tear it apart. Percy repeated this process as he partially prodded his opening and stroked him.

Once Nico felt himself close, Percy removed his hand completely, enjoying the exasperation on the younger boy's face. _The bastard. Someone's getting their head ripped from their body_. Nico glared at him dangerously. His anger was soon replaced with pleasure and surprise as the finger playing with his opening pushed all the way in. His head fell backward and let out a low groan. He could hear the green-eyed man chuckle.

"O-oh god... Percy," Nico shut his eyes closed.

The heat radiating off Percy's body enveloped his as said boy laid on top of him. Warm lips pecked and sucked his neck and chin as he was being impaled on the finger. He felt _his_ Siren bite his shoulder to distract him from the second finger entering. Nico moaned and let go of the sheets to grab onto Percy's shoulders.

He didn't realize the older boy had pushed his other hand down his pants to stroke his own neglected erection. The pants that were pulled to his ankles prevented him from spreading his legs further but he did the best he can to give way to Percy's looming form.

"Mmmhh.. Nico, I never told you I liked you," The taller boy groaned into his ear. The Necromancer stared at the ceiling then back at Percy. "H-huh?" He gasped.

Nico jerked his head to the left, stopping Percy from kissing him. "I like you, di Angelo. All your quirks and your attitude and the way you think. I _want_ you," He groaned. Nico's mind shut down and restarted full blown. "I want you too, Percy. I love you," Nico pushed up and kissed his lips. Tonight will leave a mark on the younger boy.

Percy sighed into his mouth and slipped his tongue inside Nico's warm cavern. The third finger was inserted and Nico couldn't stop the groan from the pain that raked his back. Percy deepened their kiss and soon, Nico was drowning in bliss. A few pumps of Percy's cock later got him coming but the green-eyed boy made sure to hit Nico's prostate dead on when he spot it.

Nico moaned loudly as he tightened around the fingers inside him and came. He was breathless when they departed from the kiss. Both carnies lay unmoving side-by-side. When they regained the energy to move, Percy pulled Nico towards him and embraced him. Nico was slowly drifting into a land of dreams when Percy tilted his chin up to meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, pecking him lips softly.

Nico was too weak to reply but he managed to kiss back. The only thing that unnerved him was the way Percy's green eyes glowed unnaturally like it hypnotized him. Or maybe it was the darkness of the room, who knows. But all Nico saw was green before he fell into darkness, the words coming out of Percy's mouth embedded into his mind but sure to be forgotten soon.

"Forget everything that happened tonight when you wake up. For now sleep and be mine." His words echoed.


	5. Chapter 5: Collecting Broken Shards

**Author's Notes: New idea for a new fic. I don't know when to post it but currently thinking the plot over and when I do, I'll let you guys know. It can be cute and fluffy or twisted and smutty. Halp. I don't know if you'll understand the last part of this chapter. I was out of brain juice and had to type down whatever that came to mind.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters. All rights go to their rightful owners.**

* * *

**What The Nefarious Carnival Does To You**

**Chapter Five**

**Collecting Broken Shards  
**

Nico could tell he was going to have a bad day before he could get out of bed.

He stared at the ceiling of his room. Whoever had the brilliant idea of pulling the curtains aside in his room will pay. Y'know, when he manages to get off his bed. The sunlight that streamed through the windows lit up the whole of his room; which looked unnatural since the boy was used to the enveloping darkness. The young male gritted his teeth and massaged his tummy. His lower back ached, his head was foggy, and he felt uncomfortable _somewhere below_.

"The fuck happened?" he frowned. Last night, he remembered Leo calling their attention. Then Frank came in with Rachel carrying the mirror. Nico shut his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows. He moved sideways and frowned displeased when something brushed against his abdomen. Determined to find out what was making him feel uncomfortable, he sat up. His hand covered his mouth as he yawned and stretched. He didn't bother with his hair as he slipped on his bedroom shoes and exited his room. Yes, he had bedroom shoes. Mind you, they were black and perfectly manly skulls.

The bathroom was two rooms away. It really sucked when they can't have their own bathrooms. Instead, the boys get their own as well as the girls. How they can ever gain privacy in a situation like that he doesn't know. Nico trudged his way there. As he reached inside, he sighed in relief mentally at the lack of presence in the room excluding him, of course. He chose the nearest stall and removed his clothing.

_I should have carried spare clothes. Great. Just wonderful_. The scowl seemed to stick on his face as he got rid of the last of his clothing. He turned the shower on and looked down. His eyes widened and his cheeks flushed involuntarily. _W-what is... s-seriously?!_ He groaned and scrubbed the dry substance sticking to his abdomen off. Nico was sure he didn't have any sexual dreams last night. So why did...

His thoughts were interrupted as the door to the males' bathroom closed. Nico couldn't believe what luck he had. Finishing quickly, he dried himself off, slipping on his previous clothes afterwards. He thought of walking out without opening his eyes to avoid seeing who came in. But he might bump into the wall so he rejected that idea. He shook his head and thought it was the lack of sleep getting to him. He exited the stall and slipped on his bedroom shoes.

"Nico?"

Of course it had to be him. The Necromancer had really wanted to abscond but it was like he was being pulled. Against his will, he spun around to meet his personal beloved nightmare. "Hmm," He gulped. Percy's sea green eyes looked at him worriedly. Something twitched at the back of his mind but he pushed it away. He backed a step when Percy came close.

"You okay there?" To his embarrassment, his cheeks probably imitated the color of cherries as the older male's eyes looked over his form. Nico tried covering his body by crossing his arm over his chest. "Yeah, no. Just a rough night. I couldn't get much sleep. The usual. Nothing to worry about." He shrugged. For a second, Percy was stunned before gaining his composure. "Rough night, huh?" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. Nico didn't question his demeanor and nodded numbly.

"Well, I'm leaving," Nico turned and left the bathroom. He was on his way to his bedroom when his stomach decided to set an alarm. He rubbed his tummy and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. Upon entering, three other carnies were already sitting and chatting. He made his cereals and listened in.

"Have you ever tried to call out an owl? Since you're a shifter and all," It was Annabeth. There was a sound of a spoon scraping against the bowl.

"An owl? Hmm. No." Frank answered. Nico grabbed his own bowl and sat beside Leo. He reached for the milk box sitting on the table and poured it over his pile. The male beside him knitted his eyebrows. "I didn't know they had phones." Annabeth rolled her eyes and spotted Nico. "Good morning." She greeted. Nico grumbled and stuffed his face with his cereals.

"Oh cool! We got the same cereals. Breakfast buddies!" Leo yelled obnoxiously. Well, in Nico's opinion, it was obnoxious. He shot him a look. "Shut up." But the boy stuck his tongue out at him. "Really mature, Valdez." Annabeth commented, finishing her own food. Leo shrugged and his eyes lit up. _Oh no_. Nico couldn't wait to go back to his room. "Hey, who let the owls out?" He grinned, nudging Nico.

The Necromancer narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Hoot! Hoot! Hoot! Hoot!" He made hooting noises and spread his arms out. Annabeth and Frank groaned. What did Jason see in this boy? Speak of the devil, Jason emerged and waved at the occupants on the table. He settled for grabbing pancakes from the stove like Annabeth and sat down beside Nico.

"Don't I ever get space?" Nico mumbled under his breath. "Nope." Apparently, Jason heard him. Leo leaned back and grinned at the blonde. "Hey, you." He looked down and clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "Pancakes? Really Jason? Pffft. Pancakes are for girls." He smirked. Nico placed his elbows on the table and leaned forward, knowing what was about to happen between the two.

The older male raised an eyebrow at his bowl. "Like cereals make you any more of a man." Leo faked gasped and pointed at his plate. A small flame ignited on his fingertip as he directed it on Jason's pancakes. Nico ignored the two bickering couple and ate his own cereals silently, his mood worsening at every ticking second. Jason fanned out the flames and stared hard at Leo. Said Latino was laughing out of his chair.

"Should we leave or..." Frank glanced unsurely at both battling adversaries. Annabeth looked up. "Where's Percy when we need him." Mentioning his name gave Nico's heart a jumpstart. _It was just his name. What's wrong with me?_ Nico tried to calm his beating heart that was starting to quicken its pace. He bowed his head and focused on his meal. Fortunately, Annabeth didn't notice. Or at least, she didn't tell him out loud.

From beside him, Jason sent a small shock of lightning towards Leo's cereals. Nico saw this and moved out of the way just as Leo's meal flew from the table. Of course, the Latino was drenched in the process. He blinked and was startled when Jason laughed. Leo didn't realize he was staring at the blonde for a tad bit longer than usual. His laugh was rich and definitely had the ability to make girls swoon. At least, that was what Leo's mind was thinking. Outside, his face was fuming.

"Oh, you're in it for it now, Grace." He stood from his chair. In an instant, his body flared with flames that seared anyone or anything that came to his vicinity. Just as he was about to lunge for the blonde, who also stood up and had his hands circling with electricity, they were both swept to the side as a wave of water drenched them. The occupants of the room looked at where the water came from. At the doorway stood Percy, one hand in mid-air when he summoned the water and one hand in his pocket. The corner of his lips twitched up as he prepared his breakfast.

"Mornin' guys." To Nico's surprise, the older male pushed Jason's plate to the other side and sat down on his seat. The younger boy was sure he would sit beside Annabeth. They were close, after all. But with Nico?

Nico unconsciously ogled at the boy beside him. His mind ran a thousand miles per hour thinking over the simple gesture Percy did. He forgot what was happening when sea green eyes turned to meet his. "Umm.." Nico turned away and finished his cereals. Due to him turning his head, he missed to see the small smile on the older boy's face as well as the endearing look that was sent his way.

"Thanks for the bath, Jackson. Needed it." Jason wiped his face with his hand and sat down where his plate was relocated. He didn't seem to mind. But then again, it was Jason. He wouldn't mind if it had something to do with Percy and Nico. And that's what made Jason Nico's best friend. Weren't they the greatest bunch?

Leo shrugged. "I'm full anyways," he was dripping wet when he exited and made his way towards his room but not before sending a wink in Jason's direction. Nico noticed this and examined the blonde's face that was starting to heat up. "What was that about?" He discreetly asked, leaning forward.

Jason shrugging his shoulders was answer enough. Nico stood and exited the room. On his way out of the Main House, Frank caught up with him. "Hey," He stopped a few feet from Nico and approached slowly. The boy raised an eyebrow. "Leo told me this morning what he was going to say last night but didn't get the chance to,"

"Yeah, you intervened. Remember?" Nico said. Frank chuckled nervously and shifted his weight on his other foot. "Yeah. About that, his plan concerned you so I thought you should know." Frank waved him over as he started walking to another direction. Curiosity got the best of him, and he wasn't doing anything in particular, so he followed the older male. "Does Jason know about his plan?" Nico asked. "He said he would tell. But seeing as what just happened back there, I'm not sure." Nico hummed in response. Something struck him familiar when he followed Frank. They were heading the direction to his cave.

"Uhhh..." Frank stopped at the entrance and looked at the darkness that lurched inside. Nico crossed his arms and looked at the male with his piercing gaze. "What does this plan have to do with me?" He asked.

"Okay, well, Leo told us about the pit of darkness you housed in your cave." Frank stared into the cave as if he expected to see through the walls of inky blackness. "What about it?" Nico was now intrigued what with the pit that resided in his cave for so long was involved. Frank relaxed a bit and began telling Nico Leo's plan.

"He didn't mean to overhear you yesterday but it gave him an idea. Since Rachel's prophecy mentioned an Underworld, and your pit of darkness or whatever is connected to lost souls down there, what do you think we could find at the very bottom? Put two and two together, we might have just found a solution to the prophecy." Frank rambled. Nico listened and he understood clearly. Although, going down the pit, that shook his nerves.

"You're suggesting we should send someone down there." He voiced what bugged him since Frank started explaining. Frank stammered and looked at the ground nervously. This didn't go unnoticed by the small boy. "We were thinking if _you_ can since you have control over that realm and the darkness. You can shadow travel, right?"

"It's not easy popping up below like it's my business. I myself haven't even gone down there." Nico's eye twitched. He was supposed to go down _there_? It was his cave, after all. And the pit was inside _his_ cave. That makes it his pit, too. "You haven't?" This surprised Frank. Nico narrowed his eyes at him. "Of course I haven't! What would I be doing at the bottom of a pit? If it even _has_ a bottom!" He stomped his foot on the ground like a child.

To Frank's relief, other carnies came, seeing the two standing beside what looked like a black hole from afar. These two carnies being Rachel and, surprise, surprise, Percy.

"What's going on?" Rachel got there first. Frank described Leo's idiot-proof plan to the girl and the green-eyed male that listened in while he approached Nico. Nico jumped when Percy brought his outstretched arms around him and pulled him to his chest. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Jason or Leo could've harmed you during their stupid quarreling. I swear if one of them hurt you..." Percy checked his sides and intentionally ran his hands down his body for an inspection. Nico blushed down to his roots and looked at the ground. His mind raced.

"_Stop it!" his voice rose. The teen above him lifted his shirt up and started to rub circles on his skin. "Please, Nico."_

"_Please, Nico." His face was distorted therefore Nico couldn't make out the details that made up his face. At least, he was sure it was a male._

Nico groaned and clutched his head. The other two carnies stopped talking to see what's going on. "Nico? What is it?" Percy touched the boy's hand and crouched down to look at his face. Nico felt his mind throb one last time before his vision cleared. _What the hell was that?!_ He gasped for breath and stared directly at the green eyes that were leveled to his.

"What're you doing, Percy?" He grumbled. Percy sighed and ruffled his hair, one arm around his waist. "Checking if you're alright. What happened?." He looked down at him. Remembering the humiliating fantasy that filled his mind a moment ago, Nico kept his mouth shut. Instead he shrugged.

"Hey! That could work but it's pretty scary going down there without the knowledge of what's waiting for you below," Rachel cringed after listening to their plan. "Don't worry, Rachel. They won't bite. Much." Nico grinned. She rolled her eyes and smirked at him. "It's not me who's going down there, is it?" Hearing this, Percy turned curious eyes on her. "Then who's…" he trailed off, letting them finish.

"Nico is." Frank said. "What? No!" Percy's arm that lay around the younger boy tightened instinctively. Nico breathed in his scent and forced to keep himself from nuzzling his chest. He tried to pull away. Sensing this, Percy hesitantly let go of him. "But he's the only one who can control the shadows. And he knows more about the pit than we do," Rachel explained. Nico could see the other teen wanting to argue for what reason, Nico doesn't know. And when did the Siren start caring anyway? Maybe it was his hero complex, Nico reasoned.

"It's fine. I'll do it. Go tell Jason in case I don't make it back," Nico waved them off. "Nico—", "I was joking. God, Percy, don't mother me too much." Nico scoffed. Rachel chuckled in the background and raced back to the Main House with Frank in tail. Nico watched them go. He didn't particularly wanted to spend some alone time with the green-eyed carnie but a part of him wants to know why the other was hellbent on not letting anyone harm a strand on him.

"What're your intentions really?" Nico looked at him from the corner of his eye. He strode inside his cave like the dimness had nothing on his eyesight. Percy looked back and forth, thinking whether to follow but alas made up his mind and ran to keep up with the boy.

"What intentions?" Percy asked. Nico maneuvered his way through his cave lighting up a candle that sat on a lone desk on the stage.

He abruptly looked back startling Percy. The older male stopped mid-step and stared at the boy. The light source casted a glow on the side of his face wherein the other half was shadowed. His black eyes pierced through him, sending shocking waves down his body. But Nico didn't know that. He only glared at the figure in front of him. "When you came with me while I was helplessly trying to track down the girl. When you started knowing me better. When you checked if I was injured due to Jason and Leo being showoffs. What's the catch, Jackson? You can't suddenly be kind to someone—"

"Someone I've known for years but haven't befriended?" Percy raised an eyebrow.

"The chances of getting you alone and talking to you were miniscule that I barely even see you around the Main House. So, before the last performance, I asked Jason to change up my schedule with Leo's so that I could get to know you better and Jason with Leo's. It's sort of a win-win situation." The older male shrugged. Nico gaped at him. "If you think I would come around and become buddy-buddy with you, you're wrong. Why not Octavian? He's been here too but you haven't befriended him." Nico continued to walk. Percy followed behind him.

"You gotta be joking." He snorted. Nico paused. He scowled when Percy bumped into him. "Is that what you said before too when Jason told you to start talking to me?" That earned him a tilt of his head. "No one told me to talk to you. It was my free choice. 'Sides, Octavian's impossible to get along with unless you talk about dismantling innocent toys." He said. Nico stopped beside the crater that, if possible, housed an eerie and darker atmosphere. His bones tingled just by peering over the edge. Jumping in would be a nightmare. Unfortunately, they signed him up for the job.

Percy luckily sensed him cease walking and stood beside him. The small light from the candle illuminated half of their journey. "I don't like this." He shifted uncomfortable. His voice echoed down the pit, trailing soft duplicates as it toned down. Nico grimaced and sat on the ground, scooting a foot away from the crevice. "Like I don't like it any better. I tried throwing food down but I never really _heard_ it reach down." Now Percy was sitting beside him.

"You throw food in there?" He asked. "Why Nico?"

"I don't know. Some kind of offering to the souls that lived there, I guess." He said. He sighed and leaned back on his hands. He received no reply so when he glanced at the male beside him, he was met with a blank stare. "There are souls down there?!" He freaked. Nico furrowed his eyebrows. "Yes. How do you think I entertain my audience? Seriously, Percy." He shook his head. Just then, footsteps resonated through the cave as Jason and Leo arrived.

"You'll do it?" Leo asked in disbelief. Nico bit his lip and looked at the crevice reluctantly.

Percy saw this. "If he doesn't, you'll respect his decision, won't you?" He directed at the Latino. Jason took a step forward. "Of course he will. So far, this is the only soluble way to complete the prophecy, seeing as it related to the earth below." Jason defended. Leo held a hand up and pushed the blonde back. "Right. But Nico, if you can, I can at least guide you down through that monstrosity with light. I built this a few months back but never got the chance to use it. Here," Leo reached inside his shirt and pulled out a necklace with a locket.

"A... necklace? You're giving me a necklace?" Nico deadpanned. "No, you zombie whisperer. It's like a flashlight. A smaller and really bright flashlight." He opened the locket, blinding the carnies with the shining light for a second before Leo aimed it away from their faces. "That's one bright light." Jason groaned, rubbing his eyes. "What's in there? A piece of the sun?" Percy shook his head. Leo closed the locket and gave it to Nico whom wore it around his neck. "No. Well, sorta. It's a complicated process only I, the hot mechanic, understand." The Latino grinned.

"Anyways, I came to tell you guys that I got a call from Kronos." The three carnies turned to Jason. "He said he was pleased to hear about our performance from the commentators. He decided to plan another one off the bat starting the day after tomorrow." Jason frowned. They stared at him in shock. "Are you serious? That quick?!" Leo shrieked. Jason nodded. "Piper and the others are already setting up the carnival, repairing what needs fixing, and cleaning up their stations."

"On my way. Nico, use that necklace, okay? Good luck." Leo ran off. Jason exhaled and stared at the remaining carnies. "Percy, if you don't mind." The blonde motioned for him to move over. Percy gave them their space. "Hey," Nico looked up. Jason brought him to the side where Percy can't hear them. "You better get back alive or I'm telling Percy." He nudged him. Nico grumbled and kicked him in the shin lightly. "Like hell you will, Grace." He smiled humorlessly. The blonde clapped him on the shoulder. "That's the spirit." He grinned.

"Bad pun. Don't ever make jokes like that." Nico rolled his eyes. He sighed, one final time before looking down the stretching blackness. "Nico," Percy approached them. "Be safe." He smiled. Nico's heart thumped against his chest he was sure even the cave echoed it. He nervously smiled at both of his friends. Was Percy his friend now, too?

He concentrated and closed his eyes. He willed the shadows to be one with him as he levitated off the ground and into a new dimension. Although at that moment, something went wrong. Nico felt different as the shadows embraced him. His skin, which flowed with the darkness, prickled with goose bumps. His mind developed incomprehensible lewd images. The shadows whispered in his ear. The air around him tickled his skin. Nico didn't know what was happening.

"_Mmmhh... Nico, I never told you I liked you." Someone groaned._

"_h-huh?" _

It was like going through a flashback in person. But Nico didn't recognize the strange feeling that went through him. He screamed as his mind throbbed the same painful feeling he got earlier. He gasped for air, falling with a thud. The air was definitely different and the ground felt dustier. He held his head with one hand and squeezed his eyes shut. _What's happening to me? Who was that?!_ Nico panicked. He thought he was hallucinating as his vision doubled. The air he breathed in was like chemicals to his system. It was different. His mind slowly began to shut down.

_No, I can't fall asleep now!_ With the last of his strength, he popped the locket open. His area cleared but the ceiling was never found. It seemed to stretch out far and wide. But the shadows were tamed back. He coughed and before his eyes drooped, he spotted a short figure approach him. The last thing he saw were the unnerving gold orbs that materialized into the dark figure's head.

...

It was like history repeating itself. Nico knew he was having a bad day as he stared into the endless ceiling above. It felt like days had passed as he lay unmoving. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and slowly sat up. His back ached and his head still throbbed but lightly. The events came rushing back to him and he found himself clutching his throat. How was he able to breathe in the air now? Was he used to it?

"What..." He looked around him. His eyes widened as he realized he'd been laying down in a pile of bones.

He scrambled up and backed away. "I'm sorry for scaring you." A small voice squeaked. Nico found himself turning to look at the girl that stood behind him. He took in the petite-looking figure. She came closer and finally, Nico recognized her face. How her face became brighter, he doesn't know. That was until he recalled the locket given to him. He reached down to his chest and found it there. It was still opened so it gave light to the room they currently resided.

"What—how did you get here?" She asked. If there was one thing Nico was good at, he could sense a restless soul. This soul was at peace but its owner's heart was no longer beating. He ignored her question and focused on his task. "What's your name?"

"Hazel. Hazel Levesque. You?" She didn't seem to mind the sudden change of subject. "Nico di Angelo. Now, Hazel, mind if I asked a question?" The girl with dark skin shook her head causing her curly hair to sway gently. "I'm what people might call a necromancer. But that's nothing more than a nickname. I have this ability to contact the dead and, well..." How can he phrase this lightly? "You're wondering if I'm dead?" She blurted. Nico was taken aback by her bluntness but nodded.

"I don't know myself. I might be crazy, for all you know. I'm so confused. I've been stuck here for who-knows-how-long and... and..." Her eyes started to water. Did she get breakdowns this often? Nico worried as the girl started to hiccup. The ground started to shake and he panicked briefly. Out popped shimmering diamonds and other forms of jewels from the ground.

_She who carries all treasure in the world_

_Seek help, stuck, in the Underworld_

The prophecy finally made sense. _She_ was the girl stuck in the mirror; and apparently the Underworld too. He stepped towards her and gave her a hug. "Hey," he mumbled. "It's okay. I'll..." his face lit up as an idea popped up. He doesn't know why but it might give the girl a chance to live and be happy. "I-I can help you." He stated.

She sniffed. "Don't be ridiculous, Nico."

"I'm not. I've been practicing something for a while now. I call it: reverse necromancy. I chant an incantation that connects my mind to the soul. It brings the living soul to a death-like trance but it doesn't kill them. While I do this, I could contribute a fragment of life to you. Since you're not exactly dead but at the same time, not alive, I could try this on you and bring you to the other side. It's a difficult process to explain but you'll see." Nico smiled and pulled away from the girl. Her eyes filtered with hope before she frowned. "You're giving a part of your life to me? Why?"

Nico thought about it. _Why_ would he? Nico smiled sadly. "I don't know myself. I could be crazy, for all you know." He imitated her. She smiled softly and sat beside him. "But don't you have people to be with? People to love? A family, maybe?" She asked. "I have friends." He squinted his eyes. "Yeah. There's Jason. And... Percy. And the other carnies." He said. "Carnies?" He waved her question off for later. "And they'll be your friends too." He smiled. Hazel's mouth tugged upwards and she hugged the boy again.

"Now, I need you to lay down and relax..." Nico stood up and waited for Hazel to get comfortable on the ground. She nodded and closed her eyes. "Ora_, _ètempo di chiudere gli occhi.._" _He chanted and watched as she gave one last fading smile, thus the beginning of a blossoming friendship. He closed his locket and welcomed the dark.

A few words followed as he closed his eyes as well. He felt his mind connect with hers. He searched deep down and carefully, held onto her. Nico concentrated hard and felt a piece of him being transferred to the girl. He bit his lip from screaming to avoid waking the girl. Silent tears streamed down his face as he endured the excruciating pain. He was able to breathe and collapse after the process but had unconsciously shadow traveled them out and back onto the world above. His head supplied him with endless blurry images and Nico thought of one word.

A name.

A name that suited perfectly with the boy whose face was veiled with fog. The boy who entered his mind as he closed his eyes. The boy who created unfathomable fantasies in his brain. Percy. It was Percy. He recognized the green eyes from anywhere. The images became clearer the more they invaded his mind. But why would Percy be in his thoughts? Where did he get the ideas from? The Necromancer was losing it. He was a masochist, conjuring these up and suddenly forgetting ever thinking of it. Or did he?

Nico was in a mess. It all felt like a distant memory; a memory in which Nico can't find the remaining pieces to. He found one piece. It was time to get the picture and hunt the missing puzzle pieces down.


End file.
